C How Do You See Diversity? As a manager, Tiffany is responsible for interviewing applicants for some of the positions with her company. During one interview, she noticed that the candidate never made direct eye contact. She was puzzled and somewhat disappointed because she liked the individual otherwise. He had a perfect resume and gave good responses to her questions, but the fact that he never looked her in the eye said “untrustworthy,” so she decided to offer the job to her second choice. “It wasn’t until I attended a diversity workshop that I realized the person we passed over was the perfect person.” Tiffany admits. What she hadn’t known at the time of the interview was that the candidate’s “different” behavior was simply a cultural misunderstanding. He was an Asian-American raised in a family where respect for those in authority was shown by turning away your eyes. “I was just thrown off by the lack of eye contact, not realizing it was cultural,” Tiffany says. “I missed out, but will not miss that opportunity again.” Many of us have had similar experiences with behaviors we describe as different. As the world becomes smaller and our workplaces more diverse, it is becoming essential to expand our understanding of others and to reexamine some of our false assumptions (假设) . Hire Advantage At a time when hiring qualified people is becoming more difficult, employers who can have no personal biases (偏见) from the process have an obvious advantage. My company, Mindsets LLC, helps organizations and individuals see their own blind spots. A real estate (房产) agent we worked with illustrates the positive difference such training can make . “During my Mindsets coaching period, I was taught how to own a diversified workforce. I employed people from different cultures and skill sets. The agents were able to make use of their full potential and experiences to build up the company. When the real estate market began to change, it was because we had a diverse agent pool that we were able to stay in the real estate market much longer than others in the same profession.” Blinded by Gender Dale is an account executive who attended one of my workshops in charge of a diverse workforce. “Through some of the lessons, I discovered my personal bias.” he recalls. “I learned I had not been looking at a person as a whole person, and being open to differences.” In his case, the blindness was not about culture but rather gender. “I had a management position open in my department; and the two finalists were a man and a woman. Had I not attended this workshop, I would have automatically assumed the man was the best candidate because the position required quite a bit of extensive travel. My assumption would have been that even though both candidates were great and could have been successful in the position, I assumed the woman would have wanted to be home with her children and not travel.” Dale’s assumptions are another example of the well-intentioned but incorrect thinking that limits an organization’s ability to promote the full potential of a diverse workforce. “I learned from the class that instead of forcing my gender biases into the situation, I needed to present the full range of duties, responsibilities and expectations to all candidates and allow them to make an informed decision.” Dale sings high praise for the workshop, “because it helped me make decisions based on fairness.” A Better Bottom Line An open mind about diversity not only improves organizations from inside, it is profitable as well. These comments from a customer service representative show how an inclusive attitude can improve sales.” Most of my customers speak English as a second language. One of the best things my company has done is to contract with a language service that offers translations over the phone. It wasn’t until my boss received Mindsets’ training that she was able to understand how important inclusiveness was to customer service. As a result, our customer base has increased.” Once we start to see people as individuals, we can move positively toward inclusiveness for everyone. Diversity is about coming together and taking advantage of our differences and similarities and about building better communities and organizations. When we begin to question our assumptions and challenge what we think we have learned from our past , from the media, peers, family, friends, etc, we begin to realize that some of our conclusions are imperfect or contrary to our fundamental values. We need to train ourselves to think differently, shift our mindsets and realize that diversity opens doors for all of us, creating opportunities in organizations and communities that benefit everyone.【小题】(1) In Tiffany’s view, the first candidate was passed over because he ________.A.was an Asian-AmericanB.didn’t perform as perfectly as the second oneC.was untrustworthyD.showed no respect for authority【小题】(2) What kind of organization is Mindsets LLC? A. real estate agency.B.A hi-tech company.C.A company dealing with financial affairs.D.A company training workforce.【小题】(3) Which of the following statements will Dale not agree with about Mindsets LLC’s workshop?A.It helped him make fair decisions.B.It helped him discover his personal bias about gender.C.It helped him look at a person as a whole one.D.It helped him find successful candidates.【小题】(4) The last paragraph is intended to tell us the importance of ________.A.viewing people as individualsB.challenging our pastC.training ourselves in Mindsets’ workshopsD.building better communications
C
How Do You See Diversity?
As a manager, Tiffany is responsible for interviewing applicants for some of the positions with her company. During one interview, she noticed that the candidate never made direct eye contact. She was puzzled and somewhat disappointed because she liked the individual otherwise.
He had a perfect resume and gave good responses to her questions, but the fact that he never looked her in the eye said “untrustworthy,” so she decided to offer the job to her second choice. “It wasn’t until I attended a diversity workshop that I realized the person we passed over was the perfect person.” Tiffany admits. What she hadn’t known at the time of the interview was that the candidate’s “different” behavior was simply a cultural misunderstanding. He was an Asian-American raised in a family where respect for those in authority was shown by turning away your eyes. “I was just thrown off by the lack of eye contact, not realizing it was cultural,” Tiffany says. “I missed out, but will not miss that opportunity again.”
Many of us have had similar experiences with behaviors we describe as different. As the world becomes smaller and our workplaces more diverse, it is becoming essential to expand our understanding of others and to reexamine some of our false assumptions (假设) .
Hire Advantage
At a time when hiring qualified people is becoming more difficult, employers who can have no personal biases (偏见) from the process have an obvious advantage. My company, Mindsets LLC, helps organizations and individuals see their own blind spots. A real estate (房产) agent we worked with illustrates the positive difference such training can make .
“During my Mindsets coaching period, I was taught how to own a diversified workforce. I employed people from different cultures and skill sets. The agents were able to make use of their full potential and experiences to build up the company. When the real estate market began to change, it was because we had a diverse agent pool that we were able to stay in the real estate market much longer than others in the same profession.”
Blinded by Gender
Dale is an account executive who attended one of my workshops in charge of a diverse workforce. “Through some of the lessons, I discovered my personal bias.” he recalls. “I learned I had not been looking at a person as a whole person, and being open to differences.” In his case, the blindness was not about culture but rather gender.
“I had a management position open in my department; and the two finalists were a man and a woman. Had I not attended this workshop, I would have automatically assumed the man was the best candidate because the position required quite a bit of extensive travel. My assumption would have been that even though both candidates were great and could have been successful in the position, I assumed the woman would have wanted to be home with her children and not travel.” Dale’s assumptions are another example of the well-intentioned but incorrect thinking that limits an organization’s ability to promote the full potential of a diverse workforce. “I learned from the class that instead of forcing my gender biases into the situation, I needed to present the full range of duties, responsibilities and expectations to all candidates and allow them to make an informed decision.” Dale sings high praise for the workshop, “because it helped me make decisions based on fairness.”
A Better Bottom Line
An open mind about diversity not only improves organizations from inside, it is profitable as well. These comments from a customer service representative show how an inclusive attitude can improve sales.” Most of my customers speak English as a second language. One of the best things my company has done is to contract with a language service that offers translations over the phone. It wasn’t until my boss received Mindsets’ training that she was able to understand how important inclusiveness was to customer service. As a result, our customer base has increased.”
Once we start to see people as individuals, we can move positively toward inclusiveness for everyone. Diversity is about coming together and taking advantage of our differences and similarities and about building better communities and organizations. When we begin to question our assumptions and challenge what we think we have learned from our past , from the media, peers, family, friends, etc, we begin to realize that some of our conclusions are imperfect or contrary to our fundamental values. We need to train ourselves to think differently, shift our mindsets and realize that diversity opens doors for all of us, creating opportunities in organizations and communities that benefit everyone.
【小题】(1) In Tiffany’s view, the first candidate was passed over because he ________.
A.was an Asian-AmericanB.didn’t perform as perfectly as the second oneC.was untrustworthyD.showed no respect for authority
【小题】(2) What kind of organization is Mindsets LLC?
A. real estate agency.B.A hi-tech company.C.A company dealing with financial affairs.D.A company training workforce.
【小题】(3) Which of the following statements will Dale not agree with about Mindsets LLC’s workshop?
A.It helped him make fair decisions.B.It helped him discover his personal bias about gender.C.It helped him look at a person as a whole one.D.It helped him find successful candidates.
【小题】(4) The last paragraph is intended to tell us the importance of ________.
A.viewing people as individualsB.challenging our pastC.training ourselves in Mindsets’ workshopsD.building better communications
题目解答
答案
【答案】
| 【小题1】C | 【小题2】D | 【小题3】D | 【小题4】A |
解析
Tiffany 在面试中注意到第一位候选人没有直接的眼神交流,这让她感到困惑和失望。她认为这表示候选人不可信,因此选择了第二位候选人。后来她意识到这是文化差异导致的误解。
步骤 2:理解 Mindsets LLC 的性质
Mindsets LLC 是一家帮助组织和个人识别和克服偏见的公司。他们通过培训来帮助雇主更好地理解多样性,从而提高组织的包容性和效率。
步骤 3:理解 Dale 的观点
Dale 参加了 Mindsets LLC 的培训,这让他意识到自己在性别方面的偏见。他学会了在招聘时更加公平地对待所有候选人,而不是基于性别做出假设。
步骤 4:理解最后一段的意图
最后一段强调了将人们视为个体的重要性,以及如何通过挑战我们过去的假设来实现包容性。这有助于我们更好地利用多样性,创造更强大的组织和社区。